Migrating Birds & Colder Air Moving South! Our First Freeze Likely Tonight!

Mike,

I took this picture at sunset this past Saturday (10/18/08) at the Jasper/Pulaski County Game Reserve. Every fall large migrations of sandhill cranes stop over at the reserve. There are few if any places in the U.S. where you can see larger groups of these impressive birds. Each evening around sunset the birds all congregate in the same marshy field. By the end of October, as many as 30,000 cranes will be there before they start their trek to Alabama and Georgia.

Bernie Chamness
West Lafayette

Thanks Bernie! These beautuiful birds have been spotted heading south through Monon, Brookston, and Lafayette. Not only are they easy to pick out because they are large but their loud honk is unmistakable. Now we may have some snow and cold air migrating south next week based on the latest model runs.Thanks Bernie! These beautuiful birds have been spotted heading south through Monon, Brookston, and Lafayette. Not only are they easy to pick out because they are large but their loud honk is unmistakable. Now we may have some snow and cold air migrating south next week based on the latest model runs. Tonight I think many areas could have their first freeze of the season. It all depends on how quickly the clouds move in. I do think the clouds will be delayed into our area thanks to an area of low pressure to our west cutting off from the main flow.

Notice our area of low pressure is caught between two jet streams with nothing to really push it along. This is why these cut-off lows are very slow-moving and the latest models not only hold off the thicker clouds for us but the timing of rain until at least late Thursday and more likely Thursday night and Friday. So bring in Professor Boots and all the cats and of course B.J. and all the dogs along with your sensitive plants tonight. I will detail those lows tonight on the newscast. This is a sign of things to come as you see below.

We are in a highly amplified pattern and this meriodonal flow will only become more extreme next week as a ridge of high pressure builds out west. This will allow a real good chunk of arctic air to pour south. Our highs will be stuck in the 40s it looks like by Tuesday and Wednesday with a few lake-effect snow showers possible as far south as Indianapolis! Some maps have chances of snow all the way to North Carolina.

This is a reminder to look for the Golden Snow Shovel contest on wlfi.com which will begin this week. Tell us when you think the first inch of snow will fall at WLFI and you could win a free year's worth of pizza from Mad Mushroom. Now next week our chances of seeing that first inch remain low, but the first few flakes of snow should get you fired up for this always exciting contest. It is hard to believe it is already our third year doing this and I already have my golden snow shovel ready! A huge thanks once again to Mad Mushroom Pizza.

Before I forget I also wanted to do a big shout-out to all the Lafayette area runners this past weekend that I spoke to and ran with in Lawrence, Indiana at the Indianapolis Half and Full Marathon. Fort Harrison State Park was absolutely gorgeous and full of fall color and our race route allowed us to enjoy every bit of it. I gave a fall foliage update at mile 9 and winter update by mile 11 to all those around me. We had a good laugh and it took our minds off any pain we were experiencing. It was a great tune-up for my big marathon in Orlando coming up in January. The weather was perfect. But check out the link below and take a look at how many local runners there actually were. It should be re-named the Lafayette Area Marathon!

http://www.tuxbro.com/Indianapolis%20Marathon%20Results%20Page%2008.htm

It is certainly something to be proud of. I already knew I had the best viewers in the country and now I can say we have some of the best runners! A great job to my wife who had a record time! The Boilermaker triathlon at Purdue certainly toughened me up and I ran a 1:37 half-marathon which was my personal best. I know I still have a lot of work ahead of me but it was the first important step in qualifying for the Boston Marathon. Now I need to put 26.2 miles together like I did the first 13.1. Keep up the great work runners!! Now it looks like weather-wise we are running against the wind, but as runners and snow-lovers will tell you we are certainly heading into the best time of the year! Enjoy the fabulous running weather and nice autumn breezes!